[Isotopic effect in enzymatic oxidation of methane]. / Izotopnyi effekt v fermentativnom okislenii metana

The isotopic effect during oxidation of methane and deuteromethane by a suspension of Methylomonas rubrum cells, for which methane is the only source of carbon, was observed. The rate of CH4 oxidation is 12.5 times higher than that of CH4 oxidation. It is demonstrated that CD4 is a competitive inhibitor of CH4 oxidation. The results obtained suggest that the disruption of the C-H bond is the limiting step of enzymatic oxidation of methane.